Uncertain future PAGE 3B
Oklahoma State freshman forward Kentrevious Jones has not played in nine of the last 10 games, and may not be returning to the Cowboys.
STILLWATER — Suspended for a violation of team rules, Oklahoma State freshman forward Kentrevious Jones sat for the ninth time in the past 10 games Monday, but the possibility exists it won't be his last absence.
Based on coach Mike Boynton's comments on the matter following the Cowboys' 73-69 loss to Baylor, Jones' status with OSU could come to an end in the coming days.
"Honestly don’t know at this point," Boynton said. "It’s completely up in the air as to whether he’ll return or not. It’s all pretty fresh. It’s something that we’ll have to deal with."
Jones was not in uniform Monday but played five minutes in Saturday's 85-77 victory over West Virginia, scoring on his only attempt. It was his first game action since Nov. 30 against Minnesota, a game after which he missed eight straight, including the latter five for a disciplinary suspension.
Jones, from Macon, Georgia, was one of five players in Boynton's 2018 recruiting class, his first as the Cowboys' coach. Jones has played in eight games, averaging 1.3 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.
Cowboys suffer another midweek letdown
OSU’s loss Monday followed a similar pattern to much of what the Cowboys endured in conference play during Boynton’s first season.
Midweek losses regularly followed big weekend victories as the Cowboys failed to capitalize on momentum. In all, OSU went 6-2 in conference games played on Saturdays and 2-8 otherwise. After Monday’s defeat, the Cowboys are 3-10 in non-Saturday Big 12 games during Boynton’s tenure.
“It’s not terribly surprising that we couldn’t get over Saturday,” Boynton said Monday. “Not for any reason other than it’s a process to figure that out. And I warned them immediately after the game. Warned them Sunday. Warned them Sunday night. Today at shootaround. Before the game.
“I haven’t delivered the message the right way, and I’ve got to do a better job making sure that we can play each 40 minutes as its own entity.”
Juniors Cam McGriff and Curtis Jones both referenced lapses in focus, a theme in those midweek defeats last year, when talking about Monday’s loss.
“Soon as you get complacent, another team is coming, hungry to take a win because every win in this conference is valuable,” McGriff said. “You never can take a night off. You have to bring your A game every night.”
Tip-ins
Baylor’s 15 3-pointers set a Gallagher-Iba Arena record for most 3s by an opposing team . ... OSU went 6-for-20 on layups and 9-for-28 on 2-pointers Monday. The Cowboys’ 40.4 2-point percentage in Big 12 play ranks last in the conference . ... The Cowboys missed five free throws Monday, their fourth loss where their number of missed free throws exceeded the margin of defeat.